Power Outage in Lafayette, LA

Winds gusted in the 40 to 50 mph range. A few trees and power lines were blown down. Minor wind damage occurred to some roofs.

Wind gusts of 75 to 80 mph and heavy rainfall lead to numerous downed trees and power lines across the parish. KLFT reported a peak sustained wind of 63 mph with a peak gust of 75 mph.

There was a voluntary evacuation for the parish. Scattered trees and power lines were blown down across the parish. Homes and businesses were damaged from fallen trees or wind. There was some minor flooding from the vermilion river. Over 40 percent of the parish was without power immediately after the storm. Wind gusts ranged from 50 to 75 mph.

Tropical storm force gusts caused scattered power outages and scattered downed trees. The highest wind gust recorded was at Lafayette Regional at 45 knots.

A video of brief gustnado near Cameron Street and Ambassado Caffery Parkway was viewed through social media. The gustnado appears to pick up a light unsecured shed like object and toss it into a power/telephone pole.

A spotter estimated winds were near 60 MPH with a passing line of thunderstorms. A tree was also reported down on power lines in Lafayette with the tree on fire.

Scattered trees and power outages were reported across Lafayette Parish. Maximum power outages were around 5000 customers. A few homes had trees fall on them resulting in minor damage and one structure was noted to have roof damage from a wind gust. The maximum wind gust recorded at Lafayette Regional Airport was 45 knots.

Isolated power outages were reported due to a few trees blown down across Lafayette Parish.

Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported scattered power outages across Lafayette Parish due to the cold temperatures.

An EF-1 tornado began near the Oil Center area of Lafayette. Several medical buildings received significant roof damage with debris from the roofs knocking out windows in neghboring buidlings. Trees and power poles were blown down, damaging some parked cars.

Along I-10 in Scott, power poles were damaged and several trees were blown down.

Trees and power lines were blown down across Lafayette Parish. Some of the trees landed on homes, causing minor damage. Region-wide wind gusts were estimated as high as 50 mph. The highest wind gust recorded at the ASOS in Lafayette was 47 mph at 158 pm CST.

A line of thunderstorms swept through Louisiana as a cold front pushed through. Multiple reports of downed trees and power poles were reported.

Colder air plunged to the gulf coast while an upper level disturbance provided support for precipitation. Precipitation began to change to snow across the region past midnight and accumulate. Snow lingered through much of the morning. The heavy wet snow caused some power outages in the area and area schools to close.

Hurricane Issac made landfall in Southeast sections of Louisiana, however tropical storm conditions were felt well to the west of the center. No injuries or deaths were reported. Scattered power outages and downed trees occurred. As the system lifted north of the area flash flooding occurred in Rapides Parish as rain bands sat over the same location. The highest surge occurred at Amerada Pass were a storm tide rose to 3.46 feet resulting in a surge of 2.18 feet. Tides were actually pushed out at most coastal locations while the hurricane was making landfall resulting in tides at some locations 1 to 3 feet below normal and boats being stranded for several hours.

Tropical Storm Lee made landfall south of Intracoastal City in Vermilion Parish on September 4th. No deaths or injuries were reported. Storm total rainfall ranged from 3 to 10 inches, with the highest amounts recorded in central Louisiana (a co-op station near Alexandria recorded 10.96 inches). Due to inland flooding, a few state roads were closed in Avoyelles Parish, and one home in Acadia Parish had water enter it. The highest sustained wind of 30 knots (35 mph) was recorded at Lafayette Regional Airport. The highest wind gust of 43 knots (50 mph) was recorded at LSU Dean Lee near Alexandria. There were scattered power outages and isolated trees blown down across the region, with a few homes having trees land on them. The lowest sea-level pressure was 987.5 mb at Acadiana Regional Airport near New Iberia. The maximum tide was 5.82 ft MLLW, which was 4.76 ft above normal. This resulted in roads and low elevations in Cypremort Point to be flooded with 2-3 feet of water for a few hours in the morning of September 4th. Minor coastal flooding also occurred in Cameron Parish near Holly Beach, where water approached Highway 82, and near Delcambre along the Vermilion/Iberia Parish line where water covered local roadways and property. One tornado was reported in Lafayette Parish, briefly touching down in a field and doing no damage. Total property damage was $270K.

A strengthening upper level low over western Texas began to push east-northeast across southwest Louisiana from the morning of February 3 into February 4. At the surface, temperatures were generally above freezing, but dewpoints were well below freezing. This allowed for a mix of freezing rain and sleet to develop across south central Louisiana during the early morning hours on February 3. A mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow then spread across the remainder during the late morning hours of February 3rd, with a changeover to all freezing rain by the afternoon. Freezing rain then continued into the morning of February 4th before ending. ||Most of central Louisiana along and north of U.S. Highway 190 received over one quarter of an inch of ice accumulation, with some areas seeing up to one half inch of ice. This resulted in widespread power outages to tens of thousands of customers, especially across Rapides, Evangeline, and St. Landry Parishes. Scattered trees, tree limbs, and power lines were snapped due to the weight of the ice. Dozens of car accidents were reported, with major roadways such as Interstate 49 in Alexandria closed due to ice accumulation. ||Further to the south, areas of southern Louisiana received from around one tenth to nearly one quarter of an inch of ice accumulation. Scattered power outages occurred, with the most across Acadia Parish. Dozens of car accidents were reported around Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Franklin, with several major roadways such as Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 90 being closed.

A deep upper level trough moving eastward across the United States forced a bitterly cold Arctic airmass southward from Canada into the Gulf Coast states on January 7, 2010. This airmass remained in place for several days across southwest Louisiana, leading to the coldest temperatures seen across this region since February 1996. Several record low temperatures were set, along with a few record low maximum temperatures. Many locations in central Louisiana remained below freezing for over 36 hours from around midnight early on January 8th through the afternoon on Saturday January 9th. ||These bitterly cold temperatures led to several school closures, numerous weather-related fires, sporadic power outages, and widespread plumbing ruptures across the region. One man reportedly froze to death outdoors in Mossville in Calcasieu Parish.

A powerful upper level storm system moved across the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley from Wednesday, December 23, 2009, through Thursday, December 24, 2009. Numerous showers and elevated thunderstorms, including some supercells, repeatedly developed and moved northward across much of southwest Louisiana and the northern Gulf of Mexico from late Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. As the main upper level system approached Louisiana early Thursday morning, a squall line developed across east Texas and moved rapidly eastward across Louisiana, causing several reports of wind damage in southern Louisiana. Meanwhile, some of the elevated supercells became surface-based and tracked north-northeastward across south-central and east-central Louisiana, spawning at least a dozen tornadoes. In addition, the widespread rainfall caused flooding in some of these same areas.||In total, at least 12 tornadoes affected portions of Vermilion, Acadia, St. Landry, Evangeline, and Avoyelles Parishes within a two hour timespan from 7-9 AM. Seven tornadoes affected Acadia Parish alone, the biggest single outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded in that parish. Three tornadoes were rated EF2, three were rated EF1, and six were rated EF0. Other tornadoes likely occurred that were reported by area residents but could not be confirmed by NWS storm surveys. These included a likely tornado just east of I-49 in extreme northeastern Evangeline Parish, a possible tornado about 8 miles southwest of Gueydan, and another east of Palmetto in far northeastern St. Landry Parish. This was the largest outbreak of tornadoes in the NWS Lake Charles county warning area since November 23, 2004.

A powerful and deep upper level trough of low pressure moved quickly across Texas and Louisiana on Friday, December 4, 2009. At the same time, a strong area of surface low pressure developed in the western Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, a cold Arctic airmass filtered southward through the southern United States. All of these factors combined to produce a large area of rain along the Texas coast during the morning hours, which then spread northeastward across southwest Louisiana during the late morning and afternoon hours. As temperatures gradually cooled both at the surface and aloft, the rain began to mix with and eventually change over to snow from west to east across the area from the afternoon through the evening. Snow fell for many hours across central Louisiana along and north of the Highway 190 corridor, but only for a few hours south of Highway 190.||Total snow accumulations across southwest Louisiana ranged from just a dusting near the coast up to 3 inches across central Louisiana. The heaviest amounts occurred in three separate mesoscale bands that stretched from southwest to northeast, with one band stretching from northwest Beauregard Parish into Vernon Parish; the second along a line from southeastern Beauregard Parish into southern Rapides Parish; and the third from southern Jefferson Davis Parish into southeastern Avoyelles Parish and on into Mississippi. ||Snowfall totals included 3.0 at Eunice, 2.5 at Fort Polk, 2.5 at Rosepine, 2.0 at Anacoco, 2.0 about 5 miles ENE of Dequincy, 2.0 at Elmer, 2.0 at Leesville, 2.0 at Ville Platte, 1.5 at Lacassine, 1.5 at Welsh, 1.0 at Alexandria 911 Center, 1.0 at Bell City, 1.0 at Carencro, 1.0 at Plaisance, 0.8 at Jennings, 0.5 at Lake Arthur, 0.3 about 5 miles SSE of Dequincy, 0.3 about 7 miles southwest of Boyce, 0.3 at Lafayette, 0.2 at Alexandria Int'l Airport, 0.2 at Lake Charles, and 0.2 at Moss Bluff.||This became the earliest measurable snowfall on record at both Lake Charles (0.2) and Lafayette (0.3). The previous record was set just one year prior on December 11, 2008.

Hurricane Gustav caused wind damage, flash flooding, and several tornadoes across southwest Louisiana.||Hustav made landfall in Terrebonne Parish in the morning of September 2nd as a category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 110 mph.||Gustav moved northwest, almost up along Highway 90 across St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin, and Lafayette Parishes. The highest measured wind gusts were 85 mph at a research site near Abbeville, LA in Vermilion Parish. However, wind speeds were estimated between 75 and 85 mph from St. Mary Parish to Evangeline Parish.||Storm surge was a minimal impact because southwest Louisiana was on the west side of the onshore winds for most of the event. The highest recorded storm tide was 4.77 at Amerada Pass in St. Mary Parish.||However, rainfall was a large impact. In central Louisiana, over 20 inches of rain fell in Rapides Parish, with a CO-OP observer recording 20.43 inches 7 miles east of Alexandria. This resulted in widespread flooding of the Alexandria-Pineville region, where over 200 water rescues were performed. Significant flooding also occurred in New Iberia, where over ten inches of rain fell, resulting in widespread flooding in and around New Iberia.||Several tornadoes were seen across southwest Louisiana, with the worst one occurring in Evangeline Parish near Mamou, where two people were killed when their tied-down mobile home was thrown for over 200 yards.||Other fatalities in the region were considered indirect. Two men died in Calcasieu Parish from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator running in their home. A woman died in St. Martin Parish when her home caught fire from burning candles after she lost power.||Total property damages were estimated near 750 million dollars in southwest Louisiana. Agricultural loses were estimated to be over 225 million dollars.

Hurricane Rita made landfall around 230 am on September 24th in Cameron Parish near Johnson Bayou as a category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph. Wind gusts over 110 mph were recorded in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. This resulted in numerous trees and power lines downed. In parts of Beauregard, Jeff Davis, and Vermilion Parishes, winds blew over 90 mph. The remainder of southwest Louisiana saw wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Only one direct fatality has been reported. A man drowned near a sunken shrimping vessel near the Calcasieu ship channel. Estimated damages in southwest Louisiana total near 4 billion dollars, with the bulk of that loss in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. Entire towns were destroyed in Cameron Parish, including downtown Cameron, Creole, Holly Beach, and Grand Chenier. An estimated 90 to 95 percent of the homes in the parish were severely damaged or destroyed - over 5000 residences. Storm surge values are estimated around 15 feet in parts of Cameron Parish. The storm surge also moved up the Calcasieu ship channel, flooding portions of Calcasieu Parish, including sections of downtown Lake Charles near the civic center, where the storm surge was estimated between 6 and 8 feet. Storm surge also was a significant problem in Vermilion Parish, which saw locations 10 ft above sea level flooded - including all of Pecan Island, Intracoastal City, and Delcambre. The storm surge extended further east, into Iberia and St. Mary Parishes, where an estimated 5 to 10 ft storm surge damaged homes along and south of Highway 90, especially near Cypremort Point, Burns Point, and Franklin.

Trees and power lines were blown down near Duson.

A short-lived tornado associated with Hurricane Lili moved across Pinhook and Verot School Road. A few trees and power lines were blown down, some landing on homes and businesses.

Several trees and power lines were blown down during a severe thunderstorm.

High winds associated with a strong cold front downed trees and power lines across central and south-central Louisiana.

Trees and power lines downed, and damage to a patio area.

Trees and four power poles were blown down on US 90.

Trees and power lines were blown down across Lafayette, crushing a car and damaging a one bedroom apartment on the second story of an apartment building. A garage was also severely damaged when a tree fell on it.